Childhood Secret
by AikoHimaru
Summary: Ryoma lived in America when he was little, but there was a time period where he had lost his memories. What in the world had happened? And who is this girl who claims to know Ryoma when he was little?
1. Chapter 1

Hello everyone! This is my first time writing a work on here, so feel free to give me strict reviews! I'll accept all your reviews and use them to improve my story and come up with the story along the way. I hope you enjoy this story C: As always, have fun reading. C:

-Aiko

* * *

Karupin crept towards Ryoma's bed and then settled underneath Ryoma's arms.

"Meow."

"Mmm..." Ryoma mumbled.

The breath that left from Ryoma's mouth clouded over the cat's head. The cat purred softly and cuddled against Ryoma's face.

"Meow."

Ryoma slowly opened his hazel eyes and petted Karupin gently. Ryoma smiled as the feline purred happily. He then got up from his bed

and walked towards the bathroom to get ready. Karupin, however, stayed in the warm, comfortable bed.

It was a quiet morning, since it was a Monday and Ryoma felt no need to rush at all. On the regular days of the week he

was always late to school.

Ryoma scratched his head and yawned. He felt sleepy. As he walked into the kitchen, he spotted a female figure at the counter of the

sink, washing some dishes.

"Morning, Nanako." Ryoma said as he seated himself at the table.

"Good morning, Ryoma-kun." Rinko responded as she turned back to him, " You should go and fix your bed hair."

Nanako giggled.

"Ah."

Ryoma scowled in front of the mirror as his hair refused to listen to him.

"This is so uncool," Ryoma thought to himself.

Ryoma sighed and decided it was a waste of time and returned to the kitchen. On the kitchen table, Rinko had set down a warm

Japanese breakfast for Ryoma.

"Itadakimasu."

Ryoma gobbled down the food quickly and then set the plates inside the sink.

"Nanako, I'm going to school now!" Ryoma shouted.

"Okay, have a safe trip. Did you leave the dishes in the sink?" Nanako yelled from the living room.

"Yeah, I did."

* * *

Ryoma walked slowly to school, while he enjoyed the view of the pink cotton-like clusters that could be seen everywhere. A breeze

brushed along Ryoma's hair as he continued to head towards the school.

Ryoma could hear a voice saying his name "Echizen!" over and over again.

"Must be my imagination," Ryoma thought inside his head and continued down his path.

Suddenly, Ryoma felt someone's hands on his shoulder, and then he turned around.

"Echizen, wh- why d-d-didn't you t-turn around when I called your name?" Momoshiro exclaimed as he tried to recover his energy from

the short run.

"Che." Ryoma mumbled as he turned his face away from Momo.

"Now, now Echizen, don't be so cold." Momo said as he locked Ryoma's head underneath his arms.

"Momo-sempai, let go of me!" Ryoma struggled to get out of Momo's grip.

"In this case, it's finally my turn to say 'Mada Mada Dane' " Momoshiro chuckled.

Ryoma scowled at Momoshiro as Momo laughed.

The sound of the school bell echoed throughout the school, making Momoshiro panic.

"Arghh! Echizen, we're going to be late! Let's go." Momoshiro shouted as he grabbed Echizen along him.

"I thought it was going to be a quiet morning too." Ryoma mumbled to himself.

"Did you say something, Echizen?" Momoshiro asked as he dragged Echizen pass the gate with him.

"Nothing, Momo-sempai." Echizen replied.

* * *

Ryoma lied his head on his desk and fell into deep sleep in class.

_"Ryoma-chan... are you sure we're allowed to do this?" a girl's voice said._

_"Of course we can." Ryoma said as he grabbed the girl's hand._

_Suddenly an Ryoma was falling into a dark hole and going deeper and deeper._

_"R-RYOMA-CHANNNNNNNNN!" the girl's voice echoed throughout his mind._

Ryoma jolted awake and then looked around his surroundings.

"I'm still at school. What was that dream about?" Ryoma thought to himself.

The teacher of his English class stared at Ryoma for a second, silently showing his disapproval of Ryoma's behavior and then continued

on with the class.

Ryoma just put his head on the table and closed his eyes, but this time he didn't go back to sleep.

* * *

Sooo, that's it for this time. x) How'd you guys like it? Review & Rate please Thanks x)

-Aiko


	2. Chapter 2

Hey guys, it's Aiko! :) I know that this chapter isn't as long as the other, but I hope you don't mind. I have some main events for this story in mind, so look forward to it! Luckily winter break is coming closer and closer, so I'll have at least hopefully 2 more chapters updated soon! C: Enjoy the read, and remember: Review and rate! Thanks!

-Aiko

* * *

The sound of the bell echoed throughout the school signaling the time to go home, however this bell meant something different for Ryoma; it was time

for tennis practice after school. Ryoma quickly grabbed his tennis racket bag and exited the classroom. He wanted to escape quickly from the building

and into the boy's locker room. On his way to the locker room, Sakuno called out to Ryoma in her anxious voice like always.

"R-Ryo-Ryoma-kun!" Sakuno stuttered.

"Hm?" Ryoma answered as he turned around to face her.

"Uhm.. Gambatte for thrusday's game." Sakuno muttered quietly with her eyes glued to the ground.

"Ah, arigato." Ryoma replied as he tried to avoid any eye contact with Sakuno.

The reason for their shy-like behavior was quite simple actually. Here's what happened:  
_  
Friday After school- Tennis practice: _  
_  
Ryoma had just finished practice and decided to help Sakuno with picking up the tennis balls. _  
_  
"Arigato, Ryoma-kun." Sakuno told Ryoma as they continued to clear the court of yellow tennis balls. _  
_  
"No problem, " Ryoma replied. _  
_  
"Kya-" _  
_  
Ryoma grabbed Sakuno by the waist, attempting to stop her from falling, but the two collapsed on the floor. _  
_  
Ryoma felt a soft texture meeting his lips and when he opened his eyes, all he could see was Sakuno's face. The two of them had robbed each other of_

something that could only be taken once, their first kisses.   
_  
The two immediately parted away from each other, frantically. _  
_  
The flush of red spread across their faces as they awkwardly looked each other in the eye and continued to pick up the rest of the tennis balls._

Ryoma pulled down his cap desperately trying to hide his face from Sakuno as he walked into the changing room. Sakuno's eyes never left Ryoma's

back as he went inside the Boy's locker room.

* * *

Ryoma grunted as he returned the shot near the baseline to Tezuka's court. Tezuka smoothly returned shoot the ball back towards Ryoma's court.

Ryoma, utilizing split-step, reached just in time to rally the ball back to Tezuka. The nonstop rally between the two youthful teens captured the hearts

of nearby teenage girls who reflected hearts in their eyes, one of them named Tomoka immediately shouted Ryoma's name to cheer him on.

Coach Ryuzaki arrived at the tennis courts and blew her whistle. Every single member of the tennis team stood alert and ready for news to be heard

from the coach as she called for a meeting.

"You all did a good job at practice today. Let's end it for today now. Clear the courts and put everything away. I'll expect to see you all on time sharply

tomorrow." Ryuzaki stated in a strict voice.

"Yes, coach." the members answered in perfect union.

* * *

"Echizen, do you want to go for burgers later on?" Momoshiro asked as he changed his clothes.

"Oi, Ochibi, Momo," Eiji exclaimed, "include me too!"

"Uh, no... I'll pass today, Momo-sempai." Ryoma said as he grabbed his tennis racket bag.

"Suit yourself," Momoshiro replied.

"Awwwh, Ochibi isn't going?" Eiji whined.

"Let's just go together, Eiji-sempai." Momoshiro said.

"Well, I'm off then," Ryoma told the members.

Some of the members responded to Ryoma by telling him good bye or to see him tomorrow as Ryoma closed the door.

Ryoma walked home in complete silence remembering about his dream during class.

"What was that? That girl's voice seemed so familiar..." Ryoma said to himself in deep thought.

"Whose voice seemed familiar?" a girlish voice replied from a distance.

Ryoma turned around and there he saw...her.

* * *

What will happen next? ehehehe, just had to be a cliff hanger


	3. Chapter 3

Lool, hey guys it's Aiko! C: How are you liking the story so far? :) I'm really excited for the next chapter... Ehehe. C: Review and rate please

-Aiko

* * *

Her shine from her golden hair glittered from the sunlight as she walked towards him, she was a tall, young girl. Her hair reached just about to her

waist and she walked with confidence in each step she took. She smiled at Ryoma as if she knew everything about him, and about the place that she is

in. She was beautiful. She was mesmerizing.

Ryoma looked at her in awe, with his mouth open wide. He was shocked. She was just like the girl in her dreams, the only difference was that she was

older and taller.

"Wh-" Ryoma started to say as the angelic girl embraced Ryoma into her arms.

"It's been such a long time, Ryo-chan!" the girl exclaimed as she held Ryoma into a deeper embrace.

Ryoma was surprised and shocked. He tried to avoid her gaze as he turned into a light shade of pink.

"Oh wait, you didn't like my calling you Ryo-chan right? I remember you telling me to call you Ryoma instead and then you got all mad when I adding the

-chan to it." the girl blabbed on.

"Uhm..." Ryoma tried to speak.

"Yes?" the girl asked.

"Could you let go?" Ryoma said as he tried to free himself from her grip.

"Oh, yeah." the girl nodded and let him go.

"This girl is like a total copy of Eiji," Ryoma thought to himself.

The girl grabbed Ryoma's hand and looked eagerly at his face as if she was expecting him to share his side of the story from back then.

"She looks so familiar... but I.. can't remember who she is..." Ryoma thought.

From far away, Sakuno was approaching closer. She then noticed two figures in the street.

One of them looked like Ryoma and there was some other girl.

"Who is she? Is that Ryoma-kun's g-girlfriend?!" Sakuno panicked.

"My head hurts... I can't remember.." Ryoma tried to recall inside his head.

The throbbing pain began to ring throughout his head, and Ryoma could no longer withstand the pain.

"Ryo-chan?" the girl looked worried.

Ryoma began to fall to the ground.

Thud. Ryoma had fell down onto the ground.

Sakuno dropped her bag onto the floor in shock.

Sakuno rushed to Ryoma's side as he tumbled to the ground.

"RYOMA-KUN!" Sakuno cried.

"RYO-CHAN!" the girl screamed.

* * *

What will happen next? Is Ryoma okay? Why did he react this way? What happened in the past?

-Note: I'm really sorry that my chapters aren't as long as I hoped they would be, I promise that the chapters that I write during the break will be longer. I PROMISE! C;

-Aiko


	4. Chapter 4

Hello, it's Aiko here! :) Sorry for the 2-3 day wait! Ahahaha xD I hope you enjoy this chapter!~ Ohohohoho.

Anon/guest I'm kind of mad that you guessed correctly what I had in mind, but I'm glad that you don't have the exact juicy points. LOL . I'll try my best to make the story more interesting so that you guys can't guess what'll happen next. So don't blame me if this kind of goes wild. LOLOLOL

Well as always, have fun reading, review and rate please

-Aiko

* * *

Sakuno immediately mustered up the courage to get herself together and then picked up her phone to dial her grandmother's number in. She had a hard time punching in the numbers because her fingers were shaking.  
"Obaa-..chaan. " Sakuno said as her voice shaked.  
"Sakuno? What's wrong? Sakuno? " Ryuzaki replied in a worried voice.  
The girl that had been with Ryoma stared at Sakuno and nodded to signal that Ryoma is okay.  
"Obaa-chan... R-Ryoma collapsed... Come here quick, please-" Sakuno barely managed to say the lines over the phone.  
"Ryoma? I'll come as quick as I can, I'll contact Nanjiro too. Tell me your location, Sakuno. Stay calm okay?" Ryuzaki replied in a comforting voice.  
"Uhh. Ano..." Sakuno muttered as she struggled to get an understanding of their location.  
The girl looked Sakuno in the eyes and held her hand out.  
"Let me." she said.  
The girl told Sakuno's grandma the name of the street and area that they were in. She mildly explained the situation too. Then she hung up.  
Sakuno noticed that the girl's hands were trembling slightly too and that she was biting her lip to keep strong. Sakuno put her hand over hers and they both nodded at each other.

* * *

Ryoma was laying there on the hospital bed as Sakuno stayed beside him along with the other girl.  
"I'm glad that Ryo-chan is fine. He really scared me." the girl said.  
Sakuno held onto Ryoma's hand tightly and looked at the girl as if she was trying to make sure that the girl wouldn't take Ryoma away from her.  
The girl glanced at their skinship and looked a bit surprised but just smiled, then she continued to talk.  
"I'm glad that Ryoma-kun is okay," Sakuno muttered under her breath.  
"Yeah I am too." she replied.  
"Ahno... what's your name?" Sakuno asked while she turned around to face the girl after letting go of Ryoma's hand.  
"My name is Hinako. Tachibana Hinako." she replied with a bright smile.

* * *

_"Nee, Ryo-chan... let's go back now... Karupin is probably back at home by now!" Hinako exclaimed._  
_" Stop calling me Ryo-chan, I told you to call me Ryoma! You can return by yourself then, I'm going to still look for Karupin." Ryoma said stubborning as he wiped face trying to hide his tears._  
_"Hmph, fine then. You can look for your stupid neko by yourself!" Hinako spat out and then walked away._  
_"Karupin. KARUPIN!" Ryoma shouted as he wandered deeper inside the forest._  
"Hnn..." Ryoma groaned as he moved around in bed.  
"Ryoma-kun?" Sakuno grabbed onto his hand.  
"Ryo-chan?!" Hinako exclaimed.  
His eyes opened, revealing his hazel iris.  
"W-where am I?" Ryoma asked.  
"RYO-CHAN!" Hinako shouted.  
"Ryoma-kun!" Sakuno cried.  
Just at that moment, Ryuzaki came into the room.  
"Ryoma, you're awake. Thank goodness. I'll call the doctor, wait here. Sakuno, be sure not to let the idiot out of the bed." Ryuzaki said as she left once again.  
Hinako came closer to Ryoma and smiled at him, relieved that he was alright.  
"Ryo-chan, I'm so glad you're alright. You scared me and Sakuno-chan." Hinako said as he patted Ryoma on the back.  
Hinako and Sakuno stared at Ryoma waiting for him to respond.  
Sakuno began to worry and held tighter onto his hand.  
"Are you okay, Ryoma-kun?" Sakuno said.  
"Pig-tails, is that your friend?" Ryoma asked.  
"Eh? What are you talking about, Ryoma-kun? Isn't she your friend?" Sakuno responded.  
"Ryo-chan? Are you okay?" Hinako looked worried.  
"Who are you?" Ryoma asked.

* * *

Why doesn't Ryoma remember? What the hell is going on? Keep on reading until the truth shows up... Eheheh MWHAHAHAHAHAHA, Idk when I'll tell you guys, I'm stretching it out as much as I can. kekekekeke.

-Aiko


	5. Chapter 5

Hello, guys! Sorry for the long wait! Idk how I'm going to finish this story, and I'm getting lazier. :P Err, yep. xD Much apologizes!

-AikoHimaru

* * *

"Pig-tails, is that your friend?" Ryoma asked.  
"Eh? What are you talking about, Ryoma-kun? Isn't she your friend?" Sakuno responded.  
"Ryo-chan? Are you okay?" Hinako looked worried.  
"Who are you?" Ryoma asked.  
"Ehhh?" Hinako stuttered. "R-Ryo-chan? You don't remember me?"  
"Ryoma-kun, are you okay?" Sakuno said.  
"Do I know you?" Ryoma asked Hinako.  
"Ryo-chan, you really don't remember? We used to play together remember?" Hinako panicked. "Come on, Ryo-chan... this isn't funny."  
Ryuzaki opened the door and then Nanjioh came in next. Hinako was shocked.  
"Oji-san... why are you in a wheelchair?" Hinkao stuttered.  
"Hinako... I think it's best if you come outside to talk with me..." Nanjiroh replied in a serious tone.  
"Oyaji... Do you know this person? Why are you acting all serious?" Ryoma questioned his father.  
"It's nothing, idiot son, just get some rest. You'll be alright." Nanjiroh grinned at Ryoma and then started to get out of the room with Hinako.  
"Obaa-chan, do you know what's going on?" Sakuno whispered to her grandmother as she looked at Ryoma.  
"It's okay, Sakuno. You stay here and watch Ryoma for us, okay?" Ryuzaki said as she followed after Nanjiroh and Hinako.  
"Che... Baka Oyaji, keeping me in the dark." Ryoma mumbled to himself.  
"Ryoma-kun, are you okay? What happened?" Sakuno asked.  
"I... I think I was trying to remember something... and then my head..started to hurt." Ryoma whispered quietly to himself.  
"Eh? Ryoma-kun?" Sakuno was extremely worried.

* * *

"Hinako-chan... it's been a long time." Nanjiroh greeted Hinako.  
"Oji-san... what's wrong with Ryoma? And why are you like this? What happened while you guys were gone?" Hinako fired questions at Nanjiroh non-stop.  
"Calm down, Ryoma might hear us." Nanjiroh replied as he grabbed her closer to him. "You have to keep everything you hear from me a secret from Ryoma, okay?"  
"O-okay.." Hinako whispered back.  
Ryuzaki came out of the room at that moment and joined the two.  
"Let's move our location further. You never know if Ryoma is listening on the other side of the door or not." Ryuzaki stated.  
The three of them moved their location to a cafe that was a block away from the hospital.  
"Hinako, what do you want to drink?" Nanjiroh asked as he maneuvered himself through the small crowd of people.  
"I'm fine, oji-san... I just want to talk about-" Hinako started, but was interrupted by Nanjiroh.  
"I'm not going to run away or anything like that, so just tell me what you want to drink." Nanjiroh commanded.  
"I want some coffee," Ryuzaki said as she headed off to a table to grab them seats.  
"Then... a strawberry smoothie..." Hinako said under her breath.  
"Got it, just wait at the table with Coach Ryuzaki," Nanjiroh replied cheerfully as he patted Hinako in the back.  
"Here's your drinks." Nanjiroh said as he placed them on the table.  
"Sorry, could you help me get into the seat?" Nanjiroh asked Ryuzaki.  
After a bit of a hassle, they finally managed to get Nanjiroh seated properly in the chair.  
"Hinako, don't frown like that, you'll make your drink taste bad like that. You've got to be in a good mood to enjoy things," Nanjiroh laughed.  
"How can I.. when you're in this state?" Hinako nearly screamed.  
"Calm down, " Nanjiroh laughed heartily as he patted Hinako on her head. "I'm used to it."  
Ryuzaki took a sip of her coffee and then started off the story, "It's been nearly 5 years since that incident.."  
"Yeah, it's been that long..." Nanjiroh sighed.  
"What happened?" Hinako said quietly.  
"There was... an accident... I lost my legs... and-..." Nanjiroh started but he couldn't bare to say his next sentence.  
He didn't want to believe it. He didn't want to acknowledge it after all this time, even after 5 years... he still couldn't.  
"Rinko, Nanjiroh's wife and Ryoma's mom... died." Ryuzaki finished the sentence for Nanjiroh.  
"What?" Hinako began to feel a bit unstable. "Rinko-san died?" She barely managed to say the words out loud. The truth was unbelieveable.  
"That's not all there is to it..." Nanjiroh continued.

"Ryoma lost his memories from the accident and the year before it. He doesn't remember anything from when he was 5 years old." Nanjiroh let out the truth as he grasped his head with his hands.

* * *

As always, rate, review and comment! :)


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